At a Two-Way Stop...

Factual Questions
1

What if you are waiting to turn left at a two-way stop, and you arrived first. The intersection is busy so you cannot turn left. As you wait oh so patiently, an opposing car arrives at the opposing stop sign (across from you). They want to go straight. Do they have the right-of-way? I was told a left turning vehicle has to yield the right-of-way, but doesn’t it count that I was there first? Heck, otherwise, I could be sitting there all day…if more and more opposing cars come wanting to go straight! :o :eek: :frowning: :mad:

Never been clear on this (sorry to say)…just kinda been overly cautious and going on instinct.

  • Jinx
2

I’ll allow the first car to go straight. IMHO, them arriving second but going straight outranks me arriving first but turning left.

But only the first car. I make it very clear to any others that I feel I’m next! :smiley:

3

Or, I could just keep going around the world to the right! :wink:

4

I’ve always gone by the rule that whoever gets to the intersection first goes first (of course, after the way with no stop signs clears up).

According to my Colorado Driver Handbook:

5

The Pennsylvania driver’s manual, says pretty much the same thing, but only in reference to a four-way stop. Above that, it states:

I always yield when turning left, unless I’m the first person to reach an intersection with a four-way stop sign.

6

One of our local columnists ran a story on this last year- he had a state police traffic expert as a consultant on the story. The poop in Michigan is that at two way stops, the car that arrived first has right of way over the car that arrived second. Both of course yield to the thru street, but after that it is first come, first served.

7

There was a British documentary on Discovery Channel about driving which featured a woman who had been in an accident making a right turn (which would be a left turn in the US, i.e. it crosses the other lane).

She was so traumatized she could no longer ever make right turns! If she had to drive somewhere she would take out a map and plan a big spiralling route in order to get where she was going.

I was so hoping the interviewer would ask for her license, tear it up, and tell her she is no longer competent to drive a car!